Better Know a Buckeye: Nick Conner

While Ohio State fans bask in the afterglow of an overtime victory over VCU yesterday in tournament action, Friday morning's Better Know a Buckeye series profiling the incoming freshmen continues with Nick Conner. Conner, a graduate of Scioto High School in nearby Dublin, did not have to travel far to play for Ohio Stte, but he did have to wait. His offer finally came after months of courtship by programs across the country, including Michigan State.

I provide an in-depth profile of Nick Conner here, who enrolled at Ohio State in January. I discuss the reasons behind his commitment as well. I next provide a summary of his strengths and his areas for improvement as Conner works his way through the program. I conclude with a projection of a possible redshirt in 2015 and highlight film for the reader to watch.

HIS RECRUITMENT

Nick Conner was bound to play football at the FBS level. He plays for a prominent program in a talent-laden state for high school football. Observers knews immediately he had the ideal frame for a college linebacker. Kentucky may have known it first when it extended a scholarship offer near the end of August in 2013.

Others followed suit through the winter of 2014. By the end of his junior year of high school, Conner held offers from Boston College, Cincinnati, Duke, Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon, Pitt, Vanderbilt, and Virginia Tech. Any one of those would have been fine choices if he were anxious. Oregon, in particular, has become an exotic landing spot for players from the Midwest who may not have offers from regional powers like Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, or Ohio State.

Conner wanted something bigger, though. For Conner, playing for one of those four programs was his goal. Entering the summer of 2014, he planned to camp at all four schools in hopes of earning a scholarship offer.

He got his first breakthrough after camping at Michigan State in June on a Sunday. The next day, assistant coach Mike Tressel let Nick Conner know he had an offer.

Conner did not feel pressured to commit on the spot to Michigan State. However, the offer made the Spartans the immediate front-runner and, at the time, near-consensus pick for Conner's selection. Conner clearly favored Michigan State by this time. He had great things to say about Mark Dantonio, Mike Tressel, the campus, and the program, which just won the Big Ten championship and Rose Bowl. Further, Michigan State was running low on available spots. Conner wanted one and was set on deciding around early July. Michigan State seemed like the obvious choice.

It also seemed like the obvious choice because Ohio State was playing the long game with Conner. Conner was no stranger to Ohio State's program. He would visit about once a month for the past year. He had also camped at Ohio State before his junior year. However, Ohio State had other players listed as higher priority. These included Jerome Baker, who, at the time, was a soft verbal to Florida, Justin Hilliard, and Sh'mar Kilby-Lane, who seemed to favor Ohio State before committing to and signing with Florida State. Conner got what may have been one last chance to earn a scholarship offer from the Buckeyes during a camp on June 17, 2014.

Conner told Eleven Warriors that Ohio State's coaches (namely Meyer and Fickell) were honest with him. They needed to see him one more time. Conner needed to prove to them that he has speed at linebacker, similar to how Conner took reps at tight end at Michigan State to prove to their coaches he was a versatile athlete.

"Honestly coach (Luke) Fickell said he wanted me at their camp and he wasn't going to offer before that happened, and I respected his honesty with me," Conner said. "He said I needed to show up and prove to coach (Urban) Meyer that I have speed at linebacker he was looking for and that I am the right man for the job. It helped motivate me to go out and do it."

Conner may have proved his point. He received a scholarship offer after camp and committed on the post

HIS COMMITMENT

On June 17, 2014, Nick Conner announced on Instagram that he became the sixth member of Ohio State's 2015 recruiting class. It was a brief end to what became a long chase for Conner to play for the Buckeyes, realizing a dream he had since playing youth football in the shadows of Ohio Stadium.

For Conner, it was "about damn time".

To be honest, my thoughts were "It's about damn time." When I was waiting for it, it was a constant struggle because I knew it was the one I wanted but for some reason I wasn't getting it and I couldn't understand why. I will just say it was worth the wait.

While Conner respected the candor of Ohio State's coaches on the recruiting trail and respect their acumen, this decision was largely one of realizing the childhood dream of playing for Ohio State.

WHERE HE EXCELS

Middle linebackers have a lore of not being the best athletes on defense. Their role is typically to fill gaps and attack downhill. As such, they are assumed to struggle in space and particularly in pass protection. This is not Nick Conner, who is a much better athlete as a projected inside linebacker than most of his four-star peers at the same position.

The immediate thing Ohio State fans may notice about Conner from high school film is that he is ready, right now, for college football. He may struggle in adjusting to the increased speed of the game, but he's physically able. Conner is 6-foot-3 and enrolled at 225 pounds, and he already passed Mickey Marotti's winter conditioning program.

In terms of technique, Conner already looks like an ace. His downhill speed is great. He tackles through the ball-carrier. He's great on blitzes as well.

Ohio State fans should also appreciate how versatile of an athlete Conner is. He played, and thrived, on both offense and defense for Scioto. Defense may be his stronger suit and linebacker is his likely destination, but he would not have been a bad H-back for a college program either.

MUST WORK ON

Nick Conner is more athletic than a standard inside linebacker prospect, even one who is a four-star prospect like himself. However, lateral agility will always be an issue for the position and for Conner to start. His sideline-to-sideline speed is ultimately terrific, but he's a little stiff in the hip.

Conner showed some promise in camps in defending the pass, another typical sore spot for inside linebacker prospects. However, camp and game are two different speeds. Even practice is a faster speed than what is seen in high school camps. I'm curious about seeing more from him in this regard.

REDSHIRT?

Ohio State needs to replace only Curtis Grant from last year's linebacker corp. However, there is not a lot of sure depth behind them. Dante Booker and Kyle Berger will return from injuries. So will Nick Conner, who was sidelined the second half of his senior season due to a knee injury. Conner will be ready by spring football, though. Barring an aggravation of the injury, or something else unforeseen, I think Conner can find playing time in some capacity in 2015.

HIGHLIGHTS

Conner's senior season was abbreviated due to injury. You can see his junior-year film below.

Here is Nick Conner taking over a game against Westerville South, scoring six touchdowns (including the game-winner).